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Hewlett-Packard this month unveiled a mission-critical server strategy calling for the integration of x86 server blades into its Integrity Superdome 2 Itanium-based servers, the introduction of new scalable c-Class blade enclosures, and the porting of HP-UX Unix features to Windows and Linux.

That strategy, dubbed "Odyssey" by HP, gives customers of Intel's Itanium-based Integrity servers targeting the HP-UX Unix market a way to gradually move their mission-critical workloads to Windows or Linux without disrupting existing investments in their Integrity architecture.

The Odyssey project lays the groundwork for the gradual unification of Unix and x86 architectures over the next couple of years, said Kate O'Neill, product marketing manager for HP's Business Critical Systems division.

"We want to make sure Windows and Linux have the same mission-critical capabilities as HP-UX," O'Neill said. "We want to give customers flexibility in their mission-critical choice."

O'Neill said Odyssey was not a response to Oracle's actions or what Gartner reported as a drop in HP's Unix server business.

"The Oracle situation created uncertainty," she said. "But customers see that whatever investment they make in Integrity, they will be protected in the future."

O'Neill said there is no short-term pressure for customers to move from HP-UX.

Oracle has promised to support its Oracle 11g software in Integrity platforms through 2018, and few are in a hurry to adopt Oracle 12, she said.

"Lots of customers are still running Oracle 8," she said. "Customers are not adopting new software as fast as its available. Customers are not pressured to move to Oracle 12."

Kevin Garrison, vice president of sales at Lilien Systems, a Larkspur, Calif.-based solution provider and long-term HP partner, said his company is seeing little to no interest in customers to move away from Oracle software running on HP-UX for now.

"The conversations we are having are, [about] at what point in the future does the Oracle decision have an impact," Garrison said. "Our best answer is about five years from now. So it's not an issue for the next few years."

The timing of HP's Odyssey products is unclear, but even if nothing becomes available for the next couple years, there should be little concern among customers, Garrison said. "HP is buying more time," he said.

Migrating from Oracle on HP-UX Unix is not anything customers should be concerned about today, Garrison said.

"No customers are running Oracle 12 today," he said. "Some are running Oracle 11, or 10, or 9, or even a few on Oracle 8.

"It's a two-year program to migrate some of these applications. At some point, it will be a concern," he added. "That's why we talk about a five-year horizon. It gives customers three years to decide, and two years to move."

Odyssey will provide customers with uncompromised investment protection whether they continue to run HP-UX, or open systems workloads, or transition some of their workloads from Unix to other operating platforms, O'Neill said.

Next: Offering Customers A Future Choice When They Are Ready To Choose